---
title: "Message a colleague directly"
description: "Open a private room between staff inside the console, so a question between two people does not have to move to a separate chat application."
updated: "2026-08-28"
audience: [agent, administrator]
source: "https://helpdesk-docs.svr1.feedapp.click/en/hop-thu/tin-nhan-truc-tiep"
---

Not every question between two agents belongs to one customer's conversation.
The console keeps private rooms for those, next to the queue.

## Goal [#goal]

You have a chat room with one or more colleagues, sharing the same timeline and
notifications as the rest of the console.

## Before you begin [#before-you-begin]

* A signed-in account, and colleagues who already have accounts in the workspace.
* A sense of the boundary: anything about one specific customer belongs in that customer's conversation as an internal message — see [Reply to a customer, or write a note](/en/hop-thu/tra-loi-va-ghi-chu-noi-bo).

## Steps [#steps]

1. Open **Direct messages** inside the **Conversations** group in the left column.
   The rooms you take part in fill the queue column.
2. Press **New direct message** at the top of the list. The **Start a direct
   message** panel opens with a **Search teammates…** box.

   ![The Start a direct message panel at the top of the queue column, its search box holding a name that matches nobody, with the list of existing private rooms below painted over](https://helpdesk-docs.svr1.feedapp.click/images/docs/hop-thu/tin-nhan-truc-tiep/02-bat-dau-tin-nhan-rieng.en.webp)

   *The panel that starts a private room. The real list of rooms below it is masked.*
3. Search by name, select one or more colleagues, then press the **Start** button
   carrying the number you selected. The room opens in the timeline.
4. Write and send as in any conversation. A private room has no composer tabs,
   because there is no customer at the other end to tell public from internal.
5. Type `@` to tag somebody in the room. Inside a private room the `@` picker works
   in the composer directly.
6. Rename the room by clicking its name in the header and typing a new one. That is
   open to members of the room and to administrators.

> **A private room is not a customer record:** A decision about a customer that lives only in a private room is invisible to
> whoever picks the customer up next. Anything belonging to one customer should be
> written as an internal message in that customer's own conversation.

## Verify [#verify]

The new room is listed under **Direct messages**, and shows up in the list of
everyone you selected. Your message appears in the timeline with its delivery
state. The **Contact Info** panel stays closed in a private room, because the
room is attached to no customer.

## Troubleshooting [#troubleshooting]

| Symptom                                  | Cause                                                         | What to do                                                                      |
| ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The search finds no such colleague       | That person has no account in the workspace yet               | Start with [Invite a colleague into the workspace](/en/bat-dau/moi-dong-nghiep) |
| The start button is dim and does nothing | Nobody is selected yet                                        | Select at least one name and try again                                          |
| The room opens but cannot be muted       | Only a follower of the room can silence it                    | Ask a member to add you to the follower list                                    |
| The room name will not change            | Renaming is open to members of the room and to administrators | Ask somebody already in the room to rename it                                   |

## Next steps [#next-steps]

* [Tag a teammate and open a thread](/en/hop-thu/nhac-ten-va-luong-phu)
* [Reply to a customer, or write a note](/en/hop-thu/tra-loi-va-ghi-chu-noi-bo)
* [Invite a colleague into the workspace](/en/bat-dau/moi-dong-nghiep)